


Through the Eyes of a Brother

by jayballing



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Characters are of age, Crimson Flower Route, F/M, Gen, It's now time to work on Holst's prejudice, Post-Time Skip, Pre-Time Skip, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 07:48:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23967904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jayballing/pseuds/jayballing
Summary: Hilda and Claude's relationship development through Holst's eyes, and how their relationship was changing both Hilda and Holst.
Relationships: Claude von Riegan & Holst Goneril, Hilda Valentine Goneril & Holst Goneril, Hilda Valentine Goneril/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 6
Kudos: 51





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Bold -- Letters  
> Italics -- Thoughts

Holst Goneril was feeling quite lonely since his little sister went to the Officers Academy. He had always been a man on a mission, and his mission at home had been taking care of Hilda in the absence of their mother and a father that had too many responsibilities outside of their estate to properly raise a little girl.

Once their father started growing old, however, Holst started having additional responsibilities and tasks. Train the Goneril Army. Protect Fodlan’s Throat. Make sure Hilda was trained in self-defense well enough in case she was ever taken hostage by the Almyrans.

So many responsibilities.

It was no surprise, really, when he decided to write her letters twice a week. He thought that was appropriate enough. One letter to start the week with a reminder of the people back home and one letter at the end of the week to remind her that there is still work to be done.

It was after four letters that Holst received a letter back from Hilda.

**Dear brother,**

**Thank you for sending me letters. It’s been very busy here in the monastery, so my time to write you back has been rather limited.**

Knowing her, Holst highly doubted that busyness was truly the reason she took her sweet time to answer the letters.

**I’ve been settling in just fine. Actually, last week, a new professor arrived. They used to be a mercenary apparently. I’m not sure yet how I feel about it. I know you fight plenty of mercenaries and you always return home in bad shape, so it’s hard for me picturing one teaching.**

**The people here are surely interesting. Between the three houses, you have the Prince of Faerghus, the future empress of the Adrestian empire, and the future leader of the Alliance and leader of the the Golden Deer, Claude von Riegan. Have you met Claude before? I knew he existed, but not what he looked like. I was a certainly surprised when I first saw him.**

_Goddess, Hilda, should you really be gushing about a boy’s appearance to your brother?_ Holst thought.

**I’m sure you will have the opportunity to meet him when you come visit next month. We’re quickly becoming good friends. Honestly, I’m meeting really nice people, even if it can be a bit intimidating to be surrounded by important people from other territories (or even our own territory).**

Holst realized how Hilda seemed to be around a lot influential people. He didn’t know if he should be surprised or not. Politics took a lot of work, and Hilda wasn’t particularly keen on engaging in any activity that required her to put in effort.

_She is pretty good at charming others, though._

**I am afraid that I must go now. Class started a while ago and my professor still believes I’m writing notes. You always told me to optimize my time, so instead of napping through my lecture, I’m writing you this letter.**

_HILDA NO!_

**Has that vein on your forehead popped out yet? I’m just kidding, of course, I just have to head to dinner. I miss messing with you.**

Something told Holst the former was the truth, but he chose to ignore it.

**With love,**

**Your dearest sister**

In true Hilda fashion, her letter had said a whole lot of nothing. However, the small pieces of real information can tell Holst a lot.

For example, Hilda seemed to mature a bit in terms of being aware of the people around her and their power. Her mention of specific leaders made that clear.

For another example, she only mentioned one person by name instead of characteristics or title: Claude von Riegan. That told Holst the boy might indeed be important to her, beyond any social climbing he could see Hilda trying to unconsciously engage in.

He was glad to be visiting the monastery soon. If his little sister was getting close to a man whose appearance was important enough to be mentioned in a letter, he better check it out.

\---------------------------------------

It was good to be back at the monastery. Holst was walking around the grounds, waiting for Hilda to be done with her current lecture. He appreciated the time on his own, though. He cherished this time at the monastery and it was nice to just be taken by his memories.

Sometimes, Holst was a big sap. Hilda liked to make fun of him for it.

And in that moment, he saw his little sister coming out of the classroom. She looked positively bored, and she was accompanied by a guy he never seen before.

And that’s when Holst realized it.

Sure, Claude von Riegan could be considered a handsome man, but Holst now understood why Hilda was surprised with his physical appearance. Claude looked not-from-Fodlan. More specifically, Claude looked Almyran.

That certainly took Holst off guard. He imagined that Hilda’s reaction was probably similar.

“Holst! You made it!” Hilda saw him and ran into his direction, proceeding to give him a Hilda-sized bear hug.

“Hi, buddy. How are you doing?” He was genuinely happy to see his sister.

“You know, boring classes all day long, followed by boring chores after it. If it wasn’t for you, I’d probably go for a nap right away. But enough about that! Here, I want you to meet some of my friends.” She started pulling him in the direction of her classroom.

Some of the Golden Deer were already gone, but left in the classroom were Marianne, Raphael, and Claude.

“Hey guys! I wanted to introduce you to my brother Holst.” She made a pseudo-angry face and started with a deep voice “the great protector of Fodlan’s Throat!”

“N-nice to meet you, Holst. I am afraid that I have to head to the stable.” Marianne said and proceeded to quickly escape. Holst knew that to be the Edmund girl instantaneously.

“Woah, Hilda, he also has pink eyes and hair! I’ve never seen people like you guys before and now I know two of you!” Holst thought the big guy was going to be intimidating (he certainly looked so), but this quick interaction told him he had nothing to worry about. “Nice to meet you, Holst! I’m Raphael. I’m working to become a knight and provide for my sister.”

“I can definitely relate to a guy that wants to protect their little sister,” Holst said, extending his hand to shake Raphael’s. “We could use someone your size over by Fodlan’s Throat for sure.”

“Thank you, sir! I’d love the opportunity. I have to leave now to check something in the kitchens, but it was very nice to meet you, Holst!” Raphael left the three others alone.

“And you are…?” Holst knew who this was, but how could he say that without giving away the fact that his little sister was startled by his appearance?

“Claude von Riegan. Pleased to meet you,” Claude shook hands with Holst and he thought that, regardless of Claude’s smaller physique for a guy his age, he surely was more intimidating than Raphael. Holst couldn’t read him and that made him unnerved.

“I guess you are probably the one I should thank for Hilda’s way of wrapping everyone around her thumb,” Claude made eye contact with Hilda and winked at her.

Holst saw her blushing. He did not like that.

“Claude, you’re supposed to tell my brother how fantastic I am in the battlefield like we rehearsed, remember?” Hilda didn’t miss a beat. Holst wondered if anyone else noticed that she was caught off guard by that wink.

“Holst, did you know she chants her own name when she slices someone up with an axe? Vicious, this one.” Claude said that as he put his arm around Hilda’s shoulders. When did Hilda left Holst’s side to be next to Claude? Did it just happen naturally that she gravitated towards him?

This was getting more and more concerning.

“I, for one, remember you cheering me on while I chant, so maybe I’m just putting on a show.” At this point, both teenagers were staring at each other with smirks on their faces. Holst felt like a third wheel.

Holst cleared his throat and it broke the spell between the two. Claude removed his arm from Hilda’s shoulder and they both were looking at Holst now.

Both were blushing. In front of him. And they didn’t realize it.

Holst did not sign up for this when he came to visit Hilda.

“Hilda, I can’t see how chanting is particularly efficient in the battlefield. It might even be distracting, don’t you think?” Holst gave Claude a look when he said the word _distracting_.

“We can talk more about it over tea,” Hilda was deflecting the conversation. “Claude, do you want to join us?”

Holst prayed to the goddess that he would say no.

“I’m afraid I can’t, Teach wants to go over some notes with me before dinner. See you at dinner, then?”

That’s not how he envisioned him saying no, but he will take it.

“Sure! Talk to you later!” Hilda pulled her brother out of the classroom.

Once they made it to the gazebo, Holst and Hilda enjoyed some nice small talk about his trip to the monastery as well as some of her adventures in the academy. However, Holst would have to soon return to the inn he was staying in, and then back home. There was something he wanted to ask Hilda.

“So, Claude von Riegan. Tell me about him.” Holst wanted to give Hilda the opportunity to be clear with him.

She did not take the bait.

“He is fine, you met him earlier,” Hilda was avoiding making eye contact with Holst. “Future leader of the Alliance and all that stuff.”

“He looks a bit… different, doesn’t he?” Holst was giving up on all pretenses of subtlety. If Hilda was going to be difficult, so could he.

“I guess he can be considered striking,” Hilda had an almost undetectable smile. “But I see no issues with his looks.” Hilda now was starting directly at Holst. He was shocked by the change in behavior from avoiding the topic to fight him head on.

“Hilda, you and I both know I wasn’t talking about his looks. Spill it, does he have any Almyran connections?” Holst was whispering now.

“I don’t know, but if he did, what difference would that make?” Holst followed Hilda’s eyes and saw her looking at a young Almyran boy Holst heard worked for Rhea. This what unexpected in and of itself, but even more shocking was the look he saw on Hilda’s face.

Guilt.

He didn’t have time for that rabbit hole, though.

“Hilda, you know how Almyrans are. Violent, ruthless, sneaky. I’m sure he is a good friend to you, but being a good friend and a good leader are two very different things…”

“Claude is a great friend and leader, I’ll have you know. Maybe next time you can try to have a conversation with him instead of a male-posturing match.” Hilda had lost her temper with Holst multiple times, but never on behalf of someone else.

“Maybe if he wasn’t all over you in front of me, I’d be a bit more gracious. He should show some respect to the family of his _friend._ ” It took longer for Holst to lose his temper with her, but when it did happen, it wasn’t pretty. He emphasized the word friend as he looked directly at Hilda, challenging her to say they were anything else.

“All over me? What are you talking about?” Hilda had quieted down considerably, almost whispering her rhetorical questions, but Holst was too busy going on his tirade to notice it.

“You two were blatantly flirting in front of me, with some nonsense talking about chanting while he had his arm around you. And then you guys kept smiling at each other while I just sat there waiting for the affectionate looks to end so I could feel anything other than extremely uncomfortable.” He was exaggerating, he knew, but he was tired of Hilda playing dumb, something that she clearly wasn’t.

That’s when he saw her blushing intensely, all the way up to her ears.

Oh.

She didn’t realize they were flirting in front of him.

More importantly, Holst noticed, she didn’t realize Claude was flirting with her _at all_.

He made his little sister realize her crush liked her back.

“Either way, sorry I lost my temper.” He decided that it was better to end the topic. After all, he had no business accusing the future leader of the Alliance of being Almyran. There is no way that would happen, right?

“It’s okay, I miss getting in fights with you. It’s weirdly familiar,” she gave him a small smile that suddenly became a smirk. “After all, you are the easiest person to rile up. Everybody else takes so much more work.”

They kept talking for a little bit longer, but the sun was setting and Holst had to make his way back to the inn. Hilda also had to go to dinner.

“Alright, buddy. Time for us to part ways.” He hugged her tight. It would be a while before they saw each other again. Probably not until graduation.

“Hey, Holst… can I ask you something?” She was whispering and still holding on to him. “What would you do if everything you knew about Almyra wasn’t true?”

Holst knew she had waited until the last possible moment to ask that question on purpose. He wouldn’t have time to pry anything away from her.

“I guess I’d feel lost. It’s been my duty for so long to protect Fodlan from Almyra. To suddenly be told I didn’t have to anymore… it would confuse me.” If he didn’t have time to pry, he might as well be honest with her. Holst had thought about it before. The meaning of his duty. He never spent too much time dwelling on it, though. He was a man on a mission.

“Lost and confused… That would be the time, huh? You being anything other than a fearsome general ready to take command!” She had let go of him now and had a smile on her face that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Maybe when that day comes, you will be out there in the battlefield, giving your life away for a cause. Now _that_ would be the time.”

They said their goodbyes, unaware of how prophetic their final conversation was.

\---------------------------------------

Holst had ran to the them when he received her letter.

Edelgard was now emperor and she had taken the monastery. The Golden Deer had quickly ran away to a village where Leonie knew some hunters. They used the village to figure out their next steps, which mostly entailed how to get home safe.

By the time Holst had made it to their campsite, only Leonie, Claude, and Hilda were left. According to them, Raphael, Lysethia and Ignatz had started their trek to House Ordelia the day before. Once they reached Ordelia territory, Ignatz and Raphael would stay with Raphael’s family that was closer to House Ordelia’s lands than Ignatz’s.

Marianne and Lorenz were the first ones to leave. In truthfulness, they had not stayed at the camp at all. Lorenz was willing to escort Marianne to her home safely, and then start his campaign to fall on Edelgard’s good graces. Who knows if that would actually work.

As soon as Holst arrived, Hilda hugged him and started quietly crying. It was close to dinner when he arrived, and he volunteered to help with dinner. Leonie told him that she and Claude would usually head to the village to grab some food, while Hilda made sure their campsite stayed safe. They were staying the outskirts of the village to avoid bringing unwanted attention to the small community.

“Let Claude and I go get the food, please.” He thought that was the chivalrous thing to do.

“I appreciate it, but I have to go,” Leonie sighed. “The villagers are not totally comfortable with harboring maybe-enemies of someone that just destroyed the monastery, so they need my familiar face. You can come with me, and we leave Hilda and Claude to hold down the fort for us.”

Holst nodded and followed her into the path to the village.

“What happened, exactly?” Hilda had briefly described the events that unfolded, but Holst wanted to hear as many accounts of the battle as possible.

“I can’t say I understand the politics of everything, but Edelgard essentially declared war on the church. She barged in with the Black Eagles and Professor Byleth…”

“Wait, the mercenary professor joined Edelgard’s cause?” Holst was surprised this young professor climbed ranks so fast.

Leonie looked annoyed now. “Not that being a mercenary has anything to do with it but yes, Professor Byleth has always had a soft spot for the Black Eagles. It was no surprise really.”

“How are you getting home, Leonie?” Holst realized that he was taking Hilda with him and that Claude had his wyvern, but he wasn’t sure about the girl.

“I’m going to fly to with Claude to Derdriu and from there, I’ll make my way home. We Pinelli are phenomenal hunters, you know?” She was staring right ahead of her with a proud smile. “It will also be fun to ride on Claude’s wyvern. Usually only Hilda get that privilege.”

“Oh? Why is that? The future leader of the Alliance shouldn’t be playing favorites.” He knew he was being immature, but he just couldn’t bring himself to like Claude, regardless of how much his sister praised him.

“I mean, it’s only playing favorites if they don’t make their intentions clear, right? Claude and Hilda are together, so it only makes sense…” Leonie wasn’t able to finish her sentence.

“Claude and Hilda are _together?_ ” Holst almost yelled at the poor girl.

“I’ll take it that you didn’t know.” Leonie was avoiding making eye contact with Holst. They had finally made it to the village. “Hi Miss Gertrude! How are you doing today? Any bread and refreshments for some belligerent youths?”

Miss Gertrude was a short and plump woman that looked ready to be anyone’s grandmother. She saw Leonie and the warmest smile showed across her face.

“Leonie! Child, you’ve been here for too long! Who knows when the imperial army will come looking for you and your friends!”

“No need to worry about me. We are actually getting ready to leave tomorrow morning. We just need some dinner and some food for the trip.”

“Who is this fella accompanying you?” Miss Gertrude was pointing to Holst with her head, completely ignoring him.

“Holst Goneril, ma’am.”

“Here is a bag of bread and a bottle of grape refreshments. I need Leonie to help me with something with my sheep.” She started dragging the girl away from Holst. Leonie turned around and mouthed _sorry_.

Holst didn’t really care. He was fine to come back on his own to the campsite. If anything, it gave him some time to think.

How long have Hilda and Claude been together? Why didn’t she mention it to him? What did he know about Claude, anyway? Hilda was a grown woman, she could do whatever she wanted, but Holst would like to think she still appreciated the words of wisdom from her brother.

As he approached the campsite, he noticed Claude and Hilda had their backs to the trail, looking at the bonfire. Holst was about to make his entrance when he heard them speak.

“What will happen to us?” Hilda grabbed Claude’s hand and he looked at her. She was still eyeing the bonfire.

“Well, you will gallop back to Goneril territory with your brother and I… I’ll head home and try to keep the Alliance from falling apart.” Holst could see the smile on his face, but it wasn’t with its usual ease. “You know, it will be a lot harder to scheme my way into things without my right-hand man.” Claude was scooting over to her a threw his arm around her shoulders. Holst couldn’t see the smirk, but certainly heard it.

“I want to go with you.” Hilda had no humor in her voice.

“Hilda, we’ve talked about this. Nobody knows what’s happening anymore. The Alliance is about to become even more fragile than before. You’ll be safer—”

“Yes, because it will be _really_ safe for you, avoiding backstabbing nobles and Edelgard’s crazy agenda.”

“Hilda,” Claude put his hand on her cheek and turned her head in his direction. “I want nothing more than to have my right-hand, my confidant, and my best friend next to me as I embark on this journey. But everything has its time. You know some of my _duties_ would not be fitting of a Goneril companion.”

He kissed her forehead then, and as he was ending the contact between his lips and her skin, she simply pulled him down for a deep and passionate kiss. Holst was about to make his presence known when they finally broke apart.

“Are you going to come visit?” Hilda asked.

“Not as often as I’d like, but I will do my best. I’d prefer if Holst knew, though.”

“Knew… everything?” Hilda’s tone told Holst she clearly didn’t mean only their relationship.

“I’ll leave the details up to you, but at least that we are together. I’d prefer to avoid sneaking in and out of your room, as exciting as that was in the monastery.” He moved to kiss her neck and at that point Holst chose to make some noise to alert them that someone was coming. This conversation had been very enlightening, but Holst had boundaries.

And so should they, for that matter. Holst had the terrible thought that there weren’t that many boundaries left between the two of them.

“Here is dinner, folks.” He opened the bread sack while Claude gathered some utensils.

“I’m positively dying to have a real meal and a real bed. Camping is _so_ not for me.” Hilda said as she passed bag around to Claude.

“Soon enough, buddy. We will leave first thing in the morning.”

Hilda started babbling about something or another, but Holst was only half paying attention. The other half was focused on Claude. Claude, who couldn’t take his eyes off Hilda. Claude, who was so full of quips, but looked miserable at the mention of Hilda leaving. Claude, who subconsciously leaned in Hilda’s direction constantly, his body language betraying their secret. A secret that wasn’t a secret.

_Maybe this guy isn’t so bad._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not know there was a FE3H Sibling Week going on until I was about 3/4 done with this, so I guess it worked out perfectly!
> 
> I hate that we don't ever see Holst. All the extra family members that actually make it to the story belong to the Blue Lions apparently. There are plenty of opportunities for Holst cameos and they weren't used. *sobs*
> 
> I tried to stick with canon as much as possible. I took some liberties with it, of course, such as Holst participating in the paralogue battle instead of being sick (something to look out for in chapter 2!), but overall I think this is pretty canon-compliant all things considered. I also tried to give Holst a unique personality, and not just some random narrator. We know he is overbearing as a brother and we know he is respected as a leadership figure, but not much more than that. I also like to believe Holst would not simply follow Edelgard's orders and ask for her help if/when Hilda had been killed in Derdriu. I imagine he probably would be very much so like Dimitri in the Blue Lions route.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it! Final chapter coming soon :)


	2. Chapter 2

It’s been about six months since the empire declared war against the church. Edelgard and her troops had lost steam after the battle at the monastery, losing their precious professor.

The Alliance was on the verge of a collapse and only holding on thanks to Claude’s quick actions and diplomatic neutrality. It’s been two months since his first and only visit, but letters came in weekly.

Holst noticed that Hilda was quick to answer those letters, and he remembered how it took her weeks to answer his. He couldn’t really blame her, though. Lovesick as she was.

She had told him on the way back from the campsite that she and Claude were romantically involved. Holst feigned surprise and admonished her for hiding it from him.

“Hilda, I don’t care that you’re involved with somebody,” alright, maybe that wasn’t completely true. “But I’m a bit sad you didn’t tell me. I’m your brother, you can trust me, you know that.”

“I know, I know. Sorry, it’s just… a bit more complicated than you think.”

She left it at that and he figured she was emotionally and physically exhausted. Whenever she was ready, she would tell him.

But it’s been six months since then. One visit by the partner since then. Possibly hundreds of letters since then and nothing.

“Hilda, would you join me for tea?”

She was sitting by the windowsill, doing her nails.

“Sure, what are we talking about?” Her tone wasn’t accusatory, but the implication that Holst wouldn’t simply invite her for tea out of nowhere was there.

“Can’t a brother just enjoy a nice cup of tea with his favorite sister?”

“You mean your only sister. And maybe other brothers, but I know you. Out with it.” She was being playful, Holst knew. However, because he indeed had ulterior motives to invite her for tea, it made him guilty.

“Claude hasn’t been over for a while.” He said as they walked in the direction of the tearoom. From Hilda’s room to the tearoom, it was a considerable walk.

“Wow, Holst, you’re so observant! Very valuable skills in the battlefield, I am sure!” He hit a nerve, he knew. Hilda has been melancholic these past weeks, and surely that was related to the absence of her partner. “He has been very busy lately. Not much time to come all the way over here. The trip itself would be longer than the time he would stay, so we both agreed he had more important priorities.”

“You know, if you two end up getting married, a lot of these responsibilities would be yours.” Holst had a smirk on his face. Since returning to the Goneril estate, Hilda quickly fell back to her routine of doing absolutely nothing other than making accessories and writing letters. They spoiled her so much.

Hilda was blushing, but she didn’t look as distressed as Holst expected her to be. Were Claude and Hilda serious enough about their relationship to talk about this?

They had made it to the tearoom and Holst was pouring some of her favorite tea. While she was taking a sip, he finally asked her.

“When I picked you from the monastery and you told me you and Claude were together—” Hilda cringed at the memory. “You said that it was ‘more complicated than you think.’ Well, I’m ready to hear from you what about him is complicated.”

Hilda put the cup down and looked at him. She frowned and curved her mouth, a Hilda-tell that she was nervous and knew she was in trouble.

“Remember when you first met Claude and you asked me about his complexion? Well, Claude is indeed part-Almyran.” Holst didn’t know at the time, but Hilda was doing an excellent job of not lying by omitting information.

He wasn’t surprised. There were many other indications of that in the few times he has seen Claude. His food preferences, his very distinctive handwriting, and from a political perspective, the fact that he was so detached from the church. These clues, plus many other small details, combined with his complexion could only lead Holst to one conclusion.

He was proud of himself to be right. However, he was still concerned. What were Claude’s ties to Almyra? How many people in the Alliance knew about this?

Would Hilda be in danger because of it?

“Hilda, I want you to be happy more than anything, but I’d be lying if I said I’m not concerned.”

“I know what you’re thinking. Claude and I have talked about this and no, we aren’t concerned that the acts of House Goneril against Almyrans would put me in any danger, but we are also not going out of our way to tell all political figures that Claude von Riegan, part-Almyran future leader of the Alliance, is courting Hilda Goneril, sister of Holst Goneril, the general in charge of Fodlan’s Throat’s protection.” Hilda was not looking at Holst, just lazily mixing her tea with the tip of her teaspoon.

“How do I know you will not end up as a hostage? How can you guarantee that?”

Hilda finally looked him in the eye. She had a serious expression on her face, more serious than Holst has ever seen.

“Because Almyrans are not what you think they are.”

She finished her tea and left the room and a pensive Holst alone. Part of him was angry. Angry at Hilda for being naïve. Angry at Claude, for corrupting his little sister. But mostly, he was confused. Confused about his duty requirements. Confused about his sister gradual change of heart. Confused about Claude’s political situation.

Hilda was her own person and Holst wouldn’t interfere with her relationships. However, that didn’t mean he would abandon everything he knew for a boy he didn’t know well.

\---------------------------------------

News quickly spread that the Empire had renewed their forces. Byleth had returned, and between the professor’s and Edelgard’s leadership, the Black Eagle Strike Force was becoming unstoppable.

The Empire had, so far, avoided fighting the Alliance head on. Some battles by the border, but being stronger than ever, it was only a matter of time before they brought the fight to Claude.

Holst had to admit, the young man was doing a phenomenal job of keeping the Alliance together. Claude’s skills in politics and charm were paying off, and Holst was glad for it. He had to admit, though, his loyalty has always been more towards Fodlan as a whole than with the Alliance. His duty would be the same regardless of the leader, so he never became as attached to the Alliance as other nobles and soldiers. If Edelgard was to unite Fodlan, so be it. He just prayed that it wasn’t at the expense of Claude’s head. Not because he cared much for the boy (alright, he grew on him over the years), but because he couldn’t possibly imagine what it would do to Hilda if Claude died.

Claude tried to visit at least once every three moons, Holst was aware of this arrangement. Holst was also aware that, if Claude’s presence was required in lands close to Goneril territory, he would come over in the middle of the night and leave before him or Hilda believed anyone was awake.

Holst preferred to ignore this arrangement for the sake of his sanity.

During the years, Holst tried to be more openminded. After all, him and Claude might become family one day. His willingness also came in the shape of his sister who was absolutely thrilled when he told her he wanted to learn more about Almyra.

It was a weird situation. He still protected Fodlan’s Throat from Almyran invasions, but those were happening less and less. Often, it was fugitives that had committed hideous crimes that banded together to try to take down the troops stationed there.

Holst started noticing that his need to protect his people wasn’t related to Almyra, but with danger itself. It didn’t matter with they were from Fodlan, Almyra, or Brigid, anyone posing a threat to his homeland would be disposed of.

Another change that has happened since the news of a revitalized Black Eagle Strike Force had appeared was Hilda’s training schedule. With more and more battles, Holst insisted that Hilda would train weekly, for a short period of time, just to make sure she was rusted if the time came for her to fight. Hilda begrudgingly indulged him.

However, she now trained a lot more, even skipping meals unless otherwise called to return from training grounds. She was also more vicious, more confident, more prepared. She had long given up on her usual twin-tails, not favoring a ponytail that was more practical in battle.

Holst knew the change must have something to do with Claude. Hilda has always been an open book to Holst, but when it came to her relationship with the young man, she became a mystery.

During dinner that night, Hilda told Holst dinner would be visiting in a week.

“Well, I hope you have a great time. Don’t forget about the rules.” Ha! As if he was gullible enough to believe they followed his rules of hands above clothes and no bed sharing. He enjoyed messing with Hilda, though, who always became embarrassed about talking about such topics with her brother.

“He’s is visiting me of course, but he also wants to talk to you.”

 _Is he really going to propose to her in the middle of a war when he could die if Edelgard decides she doesn’t like his face anymore?_ Holst thought Claude to be more sensible than that.

His eyes naturally went to Hilda’s hand, which he didn’t mean to do. Hilda was too observant to let that pass.

“Holst! No! We aren’t getting engage! You know, you two share more things in common than me.” Hilda had a bewildered look on her face.

“I’m sorry, but what exactly would he want to talk about if not to finally make an honest woman out of you?” He was sure Hilda found his smirk insufferable.

“Ugh, stop with the marriage talk! He wants to run some battle strategies by you.” Hilda truly was the master of lying by omission, Holst would soon remember.

Claude arrived exactly a week later. Hilda had run to him and jumped into his arms after he barely got off his wyvern. The wyvern made a noise that said _pay attention to me too!_ And Hilda handed some treats to it.

Holst shook hands with Claude and went directly to the subject. “Hilda says you have some strategies you want to talk about?”

It was just after lunch when Claude arrived, and he had been flying for a while. Before he could respond, his stomach answered for him.

“Say, Holst, is it alright if we talk it over some lunch?”

Hilda was holding on to Claude’s arm, while he gave Holst an apologetic smile.

“Sure, sure… Hilda, would you mind getting something ready?”

“Oh, Holst, you know I have no talent in the kitchen… I’ll make sure to talk to Mister Horace for a cheese tray with cake.” She started heading inside.

“Hilda, that isn’t appropriate food for lun—” She was gone. “Well, you can’t say I didn’t try.”

“I don’t know why we should expect anything different.”

“How are things up in Derdriu?”

“You always cut to the chase, don’t you, Holst?” Claude was wearing his politics face, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes and a vague look. It could probably fool most people, it wasn’t a look of an excited person or a fake person, just a tired person.

A perfect look for neutrality.

They had made it to the dining room, where Hilda waited anxiously for them. She was biting her lower lip and looking expectantly at the two of them.

“So, Holst, about Derdriu. I have some evidence that Edelgard is planning on overtaking Derdriu at the end of the month.” Claude took out a well-loved journal and opened on a diagram of the city he had drawn.

“My current plan includes some blunt force in the middle of the port, while also having a sneaky flying attack after they think they seized the port.” Claude kept pointing at different parts of his drawing. “Edelgard doesn’t seem to be after me for revenge, so in theory I could leave the city to fend for itself, but it would truly be the end of the Alliance as we know if I did that, regardless of Edelgard’s results.”

Holst nodded. Claude was right, if he didn’t show the initiative to defend the aquatic capital of the Alliance, they would be effectively without a leader. As he looked at Claude’s schematics, he had to agree that his approach was the most rewarding one, but also with great risks.

“The Alliance doesn’t have that many wyvern riders or Pegasus knights, though. How do you plan on training people in such a short time?” As soon as Holst asked that, he realized the answer. He should have seen it coming. Almyran soldiers.

Claude had the talent of looking relaxed and prepared regardless of his nerves. Holst could see that, even with the air of confidence, Claude’s forehead was shiny with sweat.

“I’m asking Nader for help.”

Holst had fought Nader before. He was a fearsome individual, almost killed him a couple of times. Holst’s army’s proficiency in archery is what saved them.

To say he was displeased with the news was to put it lightly.

“Claude, I know you have ties to Almyra, but you can’t possibly bring in someone that tried to invade Fodlan to protect it! Regardless of your ties, how do you know he won’t betray you to seize the capital himself?”

“Holst, I can guarantee you that Nader will follow my orders.” Holst could tell that the nervousness he identified in Claude earlier was unrelated to the Nader portion of his plan. He didn’t know if that was concerning or not.

“And how can you know that? Simply because you are both from the same land?” Holst was losing his patience with all this secrecy.

“Because I’m the prince of Almyra.” Claude said, looking directly into Holst’s eye across the table. Holst couldn’t see it, but based on where his right arm was, he was sure he was holding Hilda’s hand. Hilda already knew about this.

Holst’s jaw dropped. He had a hard time accepting so many things about Hilda’s relationship with Claude, but this was, by far, the most shocking one so far.

It also put in perspective Hilda’s change of heart. Hilda dismissing his talks about marriage, not because she was simply embarrassed to talk about it with her brother, but because it meant much more than Holst ever thought. It meant she would be the princess of the land he battled against for a living. And one day, she would be the queen of said land.

It made sense, when Holst thought about it. Claude’s connection to House Riegan was via his mother, and nobody knew anything about his father. People thought for a long time that Claude’s mother had passed away, but it was Claude’s rise to heir of House Riegan that brought to light the fact she was alive.

“I know you must have a million questions, but please let us finish, brother.” Hilda reached for Holst’s hand across the table.

Holst was weirdly proud of Hilda at that moment. She hadn’t said a single word during that entire time, but she said _let_ us _finish_ instead of letting _him_ finish. Speaking like a true second-in-command.

“I was going to tell you in due time, but for the next thing that I’ll ask of you—” Hilda gave Claude an annoyed look when he said that. “I needed you to know that nobody will be in danger from anyone other than Edelgard’s troops.”

“So let’s hear it. I have a hard time believing anything else you say will upset or surprise me more than this today.”

“I want Hilda to be my general at that battle. I want her to, quite literally, hold down the fort while reinforcements arrive.” Claude was clearly nervous while saying this, but he was saying that not as Hilda’s partner, but as the leader of a land that needed the best possible soldiers alongside him.

“No. Absolutely not.” Holst admired Claude for having the nerve to even ask him, but there was no way he would let his sister be in that kind of danger.

“Holst, here is the deal,” Hilda started for the first time. “I wasn’t going to ask you to do this. I was simply going to leave and let you wonder where I was off to. Claude insisted that he came, in person, to ask you your thoughts on the matter. Because he respects you and because he loves me.”

“Hilda—”

“Let me finish,” she wasn’t backing down form this. “This is nothing but a formality. There is nowhere I’d rather be then fighting alongside Claude, fighting for his cause. I will fight, whether you like it or not, but I’d really prefer if you didn’t argue with me about it.”

Holst was so conflicted. For so long, he wanted Hilda to have a passion, to put in the effort and see the fruits of her work. To feel the satisfaction of accomplishing something by her own hands. He didn’t expect that a mortal battle between a cunning leader and an ambitious emperor would be the thing that would propel her forward.

But deep down, he was so proud. His little Hilda, a delicate flower, ready to protect her home from harm. Ready to defend someone she loved.

He didn’t notice when tears started streaming down his face. It was Claude’s worried face and Hilda’s confused frown that told him something was wrong with his appearance.

“Holst, Goddess, why are you crying? Are you trying to guilt me into staying? You should know that I’m the queen of fake tears in this household. Honestly, your technique needs some refinement.” Holst could tell this was Hilda’s attempt at giving him an out, but he was having none of that.

“You grew up so much these past five years, buddy. To see you so passionately wanting to fight… you know I am quite sappy.” Holst took out a handkerchief and blew his nose.

“Ew, that’s gross. What a way to ruin a perfect handkerchief.” She was smiling as she said that, clearly not meaning anything she said.

After he regained his composure, Hoslt stood up, went to Claude’s side and placed a hand on Claude’s shoulder quite forcefully.

“Claude von Riegan. My sister is the best damn soldier you will have with you. Better than five hundred Almyran wyverns. She will wreak havoc and it will be awe-inspiring. The only thing that I ask you is to bring her home alive. Not unhurt, not in good shape, but alive. Alive enough that I can tell her how proud I am of her.” The way Holst was looking at Claude’s eyes, one would think he could read all of Claude’s secrets.

“I’ll do by best, sir!” Claude easy smile had returned.

“When are you two leaving?”

“First thing in the morning. We have to make it back to Derdriu as soon as possible.” Claude was apologetic about it, his smile faltering.

“The we shall spend no time with an interrogation about your status, Your Highness. We shall have a feast.” Holst called for Mister Horace, their house-steward since before Holst was born, to make a feast.

“Please include some Almyran dishes.” Holst said while he gave Claude a smile.

Dinner was fabulous. Between the three of them, they couldn’t possibly eat more. Holst made sure all house workers got a sizeable share of such dinner.

“Well, folks, this has been grand.” Claude looked exhausted, but he was still holding on.

“Claude, your room should be ready for you. Why don’t you go to bed? There is something I need to discuss with Hilda.” Holst didn’t want to kick Claude out of the conversation, but he did want what he was about to do to be a special moment between him and his sister.

“Sure thing, boss.” Claude caught the clue. He waved goodbye at the two siblings and then yawned on his way out of the living room.

“Hilda, let’s go into dad’s study.”

Holst could see she was confused. Since their father had passed, the study was off-limits. Well, it was off-limits for a reason, and now it was a great time to retrieve the objects from that room.

As they arrived, Hilda sat on the couch while Holst walked in the direction of a large closet. Inside, sat Freikugel, House Goneril’s Hero’s Relic. Holst grabbed the weapon and gave it to Hilda.

“This won’t be an easy fight and I want you to be prepared. Father told me that you were the only one that could use it, but to wait until I deemed you ready to handle it.”

Hilda was in awe. She knew of the terms to receive Freikugel, and to hear her brother saying he believed her to be ready meant the world for her.

She got up and left Freikugel on the ground, proceeding to hug her brother. “I’m so scared, Holst, but the thought of leaving him to fight alone is even scarier.”

“You will do great, buddy. Just make sure to come back home.”

They made their ways back to their rooms and Holst pretended he didn’t see Hilda take a detour to Claude’s room.

In the morning, as Hilda and Claude were gearing up to leave, Claude took Holst aside for a couple of minutes.

“We probably won’t be able to quickly let you know the detail that will go down. But I need you to do something for me, Holst,” Claude gave no indication that his usual easy smile would appear. “If Edelgard sends you orders, obey her. If you need help with a mission and you haven’t heard from me, go ahead and ask for help from the empire. What I’m trying to say is, don’t fight against her. Her end-goal is legitimate, even if I question her journey there.” Holst had no doubts Claude would be a great leader one day. His diplomacy skills were phenomenal.

“Good luck out there. I hope Edelgard won’t be my new boss.” Holst smiled and shook hands with Claude, trying to ease the boy a bit.

“You and me both, my friend.”

\---------------------------------------

These had been the worst two months of Holst’s life.

A week after the battle, a beaten-up soldier showed up on the doorsteps of the Goneril estate with a handwritten message that was hard to ready due to being smudged by what looked like to be blood and tears.

**We lost, but we are safe. Won’t be able to contact you for a while.**

**H & C**

Holst gave shelter to the soldier until he was in a good enough shape to return home. He tried asking about Claude and Hilda specifically, but nobody knew where they had gone.

Apparently, the Vestra boy had almost taken out Hilda. Lysethia had joined the Black Eagles halfway through the battle and Hilda was in bad shape. It was Edelgard claim of victory in the other side of the port that saved Hilda from a final fatal blow. But that wasn’t in vain, as she took at almost a third of Edelgard’s army on her own. Holst hoped she didn’t have to fight any friends head on.

When Edelgard declared their victory, they all thought Claude was dead. However, their leader appeared alongside Edelgard, asking that his people joined Edelgard peacefully.

After that, Hilda and Claude found Jesper, the soldier, on the beach. They gave him some of the healing potions they had and asked him to deliver a message to Holst Goneril. Jesper was the last one to see Hilda or Claude.

It had been two months since this whole debacle. As Claude had predicted, Edelgard and her cherished Black Eagle Strike Force came to help with a mission by Fodlan’s Throat. It was Nader of all people, and Holst feared the worst. If Nader was still fighting him, what had happened to Hilda?

After the battle, however, Edelgard expressed her desire to establish a good relationship with Almyra. Something told Holst that this battle wasn’t a coincidence at all. He wasn’t pondering about it too much, as he was mostly concerned about hearing from his sister.

When Holst was ready to march into Enbarr and demand that the emperor told him where the hell his sister was, he received a letter.

**Dear Brother,**

**Sorry for not contacting you any sooner. We weren’t sure if Edelgard was going to follow through her word and leave us alone after she took over Derdriu, so we fled to Almyra. Only Edelgard and Nader knew about this.**

Goddess, his sister was in Almyra! This also led him to believe that battle weeks ago was indeed some sort of theater for his sake. Of course Claude and Hilda, two of the best schemers he has ever met, they would create a fake battle to calm him down.

**I’m alive, which is what you asked for. Claude apologizes for not being able to bring me back home to you on the spot, but we are planning on visiting soon. Edelgard contacted us after the battle by Fodlan’s Throat, and once the unification of Fodlan is complete and stable, she wants me to be a Fodlan ambassador in Almyra.**

Holst couldn’t imagine Hilda as an ambassador. But at the same time, he couldn’t think of anyone that had more talent to be a politician than Hilda.

**Edelgard is trying hard to make Fodlan’s relations with neighboring lands better. She had Petra Macneary already to help with Brigid, and it is only a matter of time until she finds a trustworthy person to send to Dagda. Although I’m not her biggest fan, I see this as a great opportunity.**

**We never had time to talk about Claude’s status. I’m sure that you connected the dots, but considering this job offer and Claude’s duties in Almyra, I’d be living here.**

He had realized that already and it broke his heart.

**You’d be happy to know that I think I will be… how do you put it? Ah, an “honest woman” soon. Claude hasn’t said anything yet, but before Derdriu, we were talking about making things official once the war was over. Plans changed a bit considering we were expecting to win, but Holst, please know that I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.**

Holst, the sappier of the Gonerils, was sobbing at this point. His Hilda was going to get married and become an actual princess! Of course, Holst believed she always thought of herself as one, but to actually have the title will probably get to her head.

**We will be visiting soon, and I can tell you all the details from the battle until now then. Almyra is indeed beautiful and I love it here, but please make sure my jewelry is secure for me to take it back with me. I miss them dearly. Not as much as I miss you and your dorky face, though.**

He chuckled when he saw that. It helped him stop crying. He wondered if Hilda knew he would become all emotional and figured he needed some sort of buffer.

**All this ambassador stuff will be a whole lot of work I’m sure. But who better than my intelligent and prepared brother to teach me the ways of politics?**

**With love,**

**Your dearest sister.**

Holst thought back to the first letter he had received from Hilda when she went to the monastery. How she was skeptical about Claude’s Almyran looks and how she was surrounded by all these important political figures, intimidating her.

Now, she was about to become one of these political figures herself. She would be mentioned in history books not as a member of the Goneril family that fought Almyrans, but as Princess of Almyra and Fodlan Ambassador. Holst saw now how her love and devotion to Claude helped her overcome the prejudices that were instilled in her mind from an early age and, in turn, she was able to also change Holst. Holst, who avoided any casualties in the latest battle against Nader because he didn’t want to hurt honest soldiers, after fighting bandits for a while. Holst, who now worked for the Edelgard, a leader committed to bring peace to Fodlan’s borders. Holst, who would soon become family with people he was taught to hate and now grew to love.

It was an interesting journey, one that he would never had thought possible when he insisted that Hilda enrolled in the Officers Academy. But he had to say, this is the proudest he has ever been of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! I hope you enjoyed this journey. I can't kill anyone, okay? It's part of why CF is my favorite. I hate killing Edelgard and I can save the most characters I care about in that route. *Still waiting for a route where the three lords get together to get rid of Rhea*
> 
> I could have made this longer, but I wanted to focus mostly on key moments in their lives that were also part of the story in the game. Lots of Hilda's and Holst's development happened off screen, which I'm not the biggest fan of. Maybe one day I'll return to work on that.
> 
> I created a Twitter account to share my stories there, so feel free to check it out if you wish: @jayballing4. I'm not particularly savvy on Twitter and I don't really know what I am doing, but I figured I'd give it a try.
> 
> Thank you for reading and any comments are very appreciated!


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